[1754] "Bhikkhus, suppose the great ocean were to come to destruction and exhaustion, except for two or three drops of water. What do you think, bhikkhus: which is more — the water in the great ocean that has been destroyed and exhausted, or the two or three drops of water that remain?"
"This alone is more, venerable sir: the water in the great ocean that has been destroyed and exhausted. The two or three drops of water that remain are trifling. Compared with the water in the great ocean that has been destroyed and exhausted, the two or three drops of water that remain do not amount to reckoning, do not amount to comparison, do not amount even to a fraction."
"Just so, bhikkhus, for a noble disciple … (the same refrain [peyyāla] as before) … exertion should be made."
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.